Floating closure for insulated carafes



Oct. 26, 1954 c BRAMMlNG 2,692,703

FLOATING CLOSURE FOR INSULATED CARAFES Filed Jan. 8, 1952 INVENTIOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOATING CLOSURE FOR INSULATED CARAFES Carl Bramming, Nashville, Tenn, assignor to Aladdin Industries, Incorporated, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 8, 1952, Serial No. 265,488

This application is a continuation in part of when the contents of the carafe are being remy application entitled An Improved Insulated moved; and Carafe filed in the United States Patent Office Figure 4 is a perspective view of the preferred on October 6, 1951, Serial Number 250,163, now ormof my floa u abandoned, Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, the nu-- I-Ieretofore in the manufacture of carafes or meral'ell generally indicates awide mouth vacuum insulated jugs it has been the practice to close container nestled in and surrounded by a prothe pouring end of the carafe by a hinged lid tective jacket indicated as 6|. The vacuum conwhich is bothersome, awkward to manipulate and teihel B0 is p se o an Outer Wall 62 and requires s di ital kin h n pouring, My 111- an inner wall 62a which are permanently sealed vention eliminates these difficulties and provides together a their upper e ds to form a lip 63. a, floating closure which seats and unseats itself All iS evacuated from between the walls 62 and when the carafe is being used for its intended 52a in th usual manner (not shown) and the purpose without any action on the part of the inner face Of the outer wall 62 and the outer user. My invention is characterized by simplicity face f t inner W l 62 a generally ted of structural component and ease in manufacwith a reflective material to help reduce thermal ture and assembly. Furthermore, my invention tlahsferhas the advantage of being a more sanitary in- The protective j e 5 y be ed of sulated carafe because no part of the floating metal plastic materials and i p sed of clos re is exposed t th t id 1 t a substantially cylindrical wall which surrounds The carafe disclosed in my original applicaand protects the container 60. Thejacket 6| just ti s ri 250,1 3 has been found tc be a above the lip 63 of the container 60 forms an inworkable andacceptable carafe. However, when Wardly eXtending f e '6 W ich term nates in contents of the carafe disclosed in my original 3 Sharp edge 65 wh ch forms a seat and seal application a being d, gurgling sounds for the floating closure described later. Resilient are heard which are caused by the unequal air 80 u r gaskets We are interposed b w en the pressure and the distribution of air in the carafe. flange 64 0f the protective j t BI and the p I have, therefore, changed the specific structure 63 of the insulated container 6!] to protect and of my floating closure, while retaining the prin- Prevent ny m ge which might otherwise occur ciple of my invention, to eliminate these undesirthe tainer. able nd In the back of the protective jacket 6! a projec- It i therefore a general object of my invention or lug 66 is formed to which a handle El tion to provide a floating closure which seats and having Spaced arms 6 and 8a m y be attached as unseats itself without further action by the user. by Cement The f o t of t Carafe is provided Another object of this invention is the provision with a Spout 69 to direct the fi W 0f the conof a more sanitary carafe without increasing the ts f m out of the carafe. cost of the manufacture and assembly of the The uppermost Dari? 0f t e jacket 6! termicarafe, mates in an annular wall having screw threads Still another object of my invention is the provi- 7! which mate With Screw t e ds '12 of a resion of an insulated carafe having a floating movable cap The p 73 has a knu led knob closure which permits a free and easy flow of 74 at its uppermost part to provideasood gripping the contents f th carafe when nt are surface when the cap 13 is removed or screwed being poured th refr m onto the carafe. The knob 74 of the cap 13 houses These and other objects may best be understood a recess 15 Which acts as a u de as w ll be exby reference to the following description describp ai d su s qu t y- The an 3 is a p id d mg a preferred form of the embodiment of my inon its bottom side with a downwardly extending vention, together with the accompanying drawlug 16 at the back of the carafe when the cap mgs wherein: I3 is secured properly to the protective jacket 6|. Figure l is a top plan view of a carafe em- The purpose of the lug 16 is to retain a portion bodying my invention with a portion thereof out P5 of the floating closure described hereinafter.

away;

2 Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1 showing the floating closure; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view like Figure 2 but showing how my floating closure operates The floating closure generally indicated as H is comprised of a bottom wall 18 having a frustoconical wall 19 extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom. A cap 80 having an annular downturned edge 81 encompasses the edges of the wall 19 to form a bouyant seal. An upwardly extended dimple 82 (Fig. 4) is formed in the center of the cap 80 of ,theclosure 77. as Figures 2 and 3 show,,a"hollow floating closure 17 is formed which will float nicely on the top of any liquids which may be placed into the carafe when the contents of the carafe are being poured as shown in Figure 3.

At the rear of the closure TI and extending up from the outer annular edge-:Blof the cap 88 is a tongue 83 having anoutwardly extending shoulder 84. When the carafe is in operative position the tongue 83 fitstbetween the lug 76 of the removable cap 13 and the side wall of the cap 13 and between a cut out portion of the wall 10 of the protective jacket 6| as shown in Figure 1. The? shoulder 84', of the tongue 83 retains the tongue between these .elements and also acts as a pivot when" the buoyant. closure is floated when the contents ,of thecarafe are being poured.

{Iw-orsmall,orifices lliwhich extend into a circular channel 86 partially cut out from the wall 70- of-the jacket BI and the wall of the remov able cap l3 permits airgcommunication to equal- 9 air p s ures between the atmosphere and the-:inside-of the carafevvhen the carafe is being poured. It is to be noted that the channel 86 finds an opening into the interior of the carafe through the cutout portion of the wall ill of the protective jacket 6| where the tongue 88 of the floating closure 17 is inserted. It has-been found that these air vorifices85 eliminate gurglinginoises which might otherwise be present and also providesa freeuand easy flow of the contents from the carafe.

The carafe-is operated in the following manner. The cap 13 is removed from the jacket 6!. The floating closure 11 is then also removed from off the edge;:65 'of the flan efi l of the jacket 6!. The container :60 is then .fllled with the desired contents and the closure is then seated upon the edge=85 of the flange 64 of the jacket 6!. The cap 73 is then threaded back onto the jacket 81. When a portion of the contents of the carafe is desired the handlet'l is grasped and the carafe appropriately tilted. Thecontents will force the buoyantclosure 71 out so that the closure '17 will float on top of the contents while the contents are being evacuated through the spout 69 as shown in Figure 3. During pouring the recess 15 of the cap 73:;receives-the dimple 32 of the closure 11.

After-the desired amount of the contents are removed, the carafe is then placed upright on its bottom. The closure 71 then resumes its seated position by means ofgravity. .The tongue 83 andxshoulder :84"help.insure that the closure-17 seats properly upon the edge (i of the flange 64 as described.

Thus it is seen-thatthe user of the carafe merely has'to' tilt' the carafe to obtain access to its contents and'no" other digital manipulation is required'as do carafes not employing my invention. Furthermore, since the closure l1 is completely encased within the jacket 6| and the cap 13 and is not exposed to external elements, a more sanitary carafe is obviously had.

While. I have shown and described preferred forms of my invention it will, of course, be understood that it is not limited thereto and that by the appended claims it is intended to cover all modifications aan'd alternative constructions as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

-;I claim:

1. In an insulated carafe, the combination comprising a container having a wide mouth formed with an upwardly facing generally circular seat,"a-thin buoyant generally disk-shaped closurehaving a downwardly facing beveled edge portion forresting on said seat to close said container, said closure-having a specific gravity less than unity so as to float upwardly off said seat when liquid is poured from said container through said mouth, a pouring spout formed on said container above said :seat, acap receiving portion extending upwardly on; said container abovesaid seat, a cap removably receivable on said ,cap receiving portion for confining said closure, aslot formedin said cap-receiving portion of; said eontainer opposite sai-d pouring spout, anupwardly projecting hooked arm looselyxreceivedin saidslot to guide-said closure for swinging movement off and on said seat, a downwardly projecting lug on said cap adjacent'said slotfor loosely retaining saidhooked arm therein,,anupwardly projecting centrallyydisposedstem on said closure, and guiding ;means on sa-idqcap having a downward y opening centrally disposed recess for loose1y' receiving said stem and maintaining said closure generally centered insaidcontainer during movemento'if and on said :seat.

2. In an insulated carafe, the combination comprisinga container having a wide mouth formed with; an upwardly facing generally circular seat, a thin buoyant generally disk-shaped closure having a downwardly facing bevelededge portion for restingvon said seat to close said container, said closure having a specific gravity less than unity so as to float upwardly off said seat when liquid is poured:from said ,zcontainer through said mouth, a pouring spout formed on said container above said seat, a cap receiving portion extending upwardly on said container above said seat, a capremovably receivable on said cap receiving portion forconfining said closure, a slot formed in said'cap receiving portion of said, container oppositesaid pouring spout, an upwardlyrprojecting hooked arm loosely received in said slot to guide ,said closure for swinging movement off and onsaid seat, and a downwardlyprojecting lug onsaid cap'adjacent said slot for loosely retaining said hooked arm therein.

References Cited-in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name v.Date

1,760,321 Seigheim May 27, 1930 1,760,378 'Seigheim May 27, 1930 1,775,349 Kaun Sept. ,9, 19.30 1,987,892 Duevel Jan. 15, 1935 1,988,223 Voss- Jan. 15, 1935 1,990,918 Ramsden Feb. 12, 1935 

